Novel Teaser

Floyd’s jaw tightens, and he looks down, scuffing the toe of his boot against the dirt like he’s trying to figure out how much more to tell me.

“Listen Opal, I have told you too much …”

“Floyd,” I interrupt, stepping closer, my heart beating faster now. “You said she’s mixed up in this. Who is she?”

“Her name’s Melody Lane,” he says softly, and just hearing her name sends a chill of excitement through me.

“Melody Lane,” I repeat, feeling the name roll off my tongue, unfamiliar but somehow… sensual. “Who is she?”

“She’s a jazz singer,” he murmurs, his voice barely above a breath. “From New Orleans.”

My heart skips. “A singer?” I think of the hours I have spent singing in the church choir and how different her life must be from mine.

Floyd nods, his expression turning even more serious. “Tommy brought her in to sing at the speakeasy,” he says, his voice laced with somethin’ I can’t quite place.

“Word is, she’s real good, pulls in the kind of crowd Tommy wants. Rich men and fast women. Once they’re in that bar, drinkin’ and listenin’ to her sing… they’re wallets just open up and their money dances away.”